The word “coaching” is derived from the French word “coche”, which means “leader”, or “guide”.. It is a fairly new term (it originated in the 80’s)
The corresponding profession is not entirely new; it evolved naturally from other professions, such as sports coaches, advisers, mentors…
Advisers provide… advice. They explain how a given step is to be performed, how to write one’s resume, how to write a business plan, or how to answer questions from the press. Mentors are more experts in their trade. They provide technical knowledge, or know-how.
Today’s coaching
Coaching drew from all of these professions, to offer a different kind of support, more suited to fulfil specific needs and defined expectations.
Providing advice is not the essential part ofcoaching, and professional coaches do not have to be experts in any trade. A coach’s role is not to get involved in the contents, but rather, to focus on the broader picture, so as to help people identify their own resources, their own solutions.
Other kinds of dedicated coaching exist besides professional coaching or business coaching. Such as life coaching, sports coaching… But in all cases, coaches focus on human factors, on the very own resources of people they are supporting, on their values, their talents, their strengths… And it works!
What coaching will bring you, the coached person
Above all, coaching is about getting support to achieve your projects. It is definitely not a walk in the park, and it certainly isn’t a forced march either.
For the coached person, it is all about getting started, or restarted, towards an objective that can be measured, and, above all, achieved.
Therefore, one of the first, essential steps is to clearly define and decide what the true objective is.
For the individual or group, the overall process is often far from easy. The coach’s role is to stand by the coached person.
The coach will guide, but not pull. The coach will follow a secure and proven process that sheds a different light on the options, on the possible ways to achieve the objective, and on indicators marking the path and the success.
